Blood in the Water - 0
Ship in Distress, Port Bow! Two or three days out from the Dwarf frontier colony of Driftwood, the capital and only city of the Southern Star Atoll, the crew of the cargo ship we ever get a name for the ship? spots a vessel in distress and the tabaxi captain orders the ship to deviate from its planned course and render aid. The ship is being attacked by a number of monstrous fish people called Sahuagin. They are, for unknown reasons, being slaughtered by the aquatic boarders, and so a Yuan-Ti Pureblood woman named Ssrissana leaps nimbly aboard the vessel once the captain brings the ship alongside. A gruff Orcish man named Bra'Lock takes several shots with his loud, projectile weapon, killing or injuring a few of the Sahuagin. Repel Boarders The Sahuagin make quick work of most of the crew and then turn their focus to the newcomer. A mysterious woman sometimes called "Verruca" followed Ssrissana over to the distressed vessel. The Sahuagin move quickly to attack the boarders, and the two of them hold their own for a while, with Bra'lock taking potshots from the forecastle of their ship and the creepy navigator's mate, an oddly-dressed woman named Hecate, fired multiple eldritch blasts at the creatures (Her evocation is "pew-pew"). "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!" Just as the battle seemed to be lost for the Sahuagin, a giant octopus appears and grabs Bra'lock. It beats him several times against the ship and nearly kills him. Verruca looks at Ssrissana. "You got this?" She asks, not wanting to lose their homeground and one of their combat team to this new threat. Ssrissana's eyes flash with bloodlust and battle rage and she says "Oh, I've got this." Verruca jumps into the water and begins assaulting the giant octopus, whose attention is still very much on Bra'lock. Hecate is assisting Bra'lock as well. Book 8 - The Tide of Battle Turns Being the only boarder, and indeed the only ''combatant, ''left on the embattled vessel, Ssrissana quickly realizes that she may not have the situation as in-hand as she thought. She is not buffed to fight a crowd, and the situation quickly becomes dire for her. Hecate notices her distress and disappears into a puff of smoke, to reappear next to Ssrissana in a similarly melodramatic puff. The two clear out the remaining Sahuagin, and as the giant octopus becomes critically injured under Bra'lock and Verruca's assault, it leaves and swims far forward of both ships, with Bra'lock in tow. 20,000 Leagues of Gray With Bra'lock bound by the octopus' tentacles and helpless, Verruca swims deftly after them to press the attack. Ssrissana shouts "Lulu!", indicating her concern for Verruca. With relatively little warning or consent, Hecate grows big black wings, picks Ssrissana up and launches her at the octopus like a torpedo. Before she could strike it, though, Bra'lock manages to free himself and kill the octopus. It is at this point that the party learns that Bra'lock cannot swim. "Fortunately, snakes are pretty decent swimmers" remarks Ssrissana, as she rescues Bra'lock and brings him to the crew net, which they use to climb the ship's freeboard and collapse wearily onto the deck.